Good Morning and Happy Halloween! Today’s edition is 1,068 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Gaza suffers more strikes from Israel

• Early voting update

• Which states give out the most Halloween candy

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Big Story

More Carnage in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 113 people in northern Gaza in the past two days, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

• Tuesday’s strike impacted the town of Beit Haia, where a five-story residential was hit. Medics say at least 20 children were among the 93 victims. It is the deadliest single strike since the start of the war.

• Wednesday’s attack killed at least 30 people in North Gaza. The Israeli Defense Force also raided the enclave’s last operational hospital and arrested all but one of its medical staff. The IDF said Hamas militants had disguised themselves as medical staff.

• Israel continues to maintain its stance that Hamas is using civilian areas to conceal its operations and that each strike has been targeted to destroy command centers.

• Meanwhile, Israel’s parliament voted to ban the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency from Israel and East Jerusalem. The move will limit the flow of aid into Gaza as the only remaining entrance is through the Rafah crossing in Egypt.

Big Story

Dodgers Win World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the 2024 World Series champions.

• The Dodgers took home their second title in five seasons and first in a full season since 1988. Their last came during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

• Los Angeles began Game 5 up 3-1 in the series but got off to a shaky start by falling behind 5-0 by the third inning. Yankee Stadium was rocking until three major defensive errors allowed the Dodgers to score five runs in the fifth inning. The Yankees took the lead back in the sixth inning but gave up the deciding two runs in the eighth.

• The Yankees would have been the first team in World Series history to force a Game 6 six after being down 3-0.

• Freddie Freeman won MVP. He broke a World Series record by hitting a home run in six consecutive games. He also drove in a run in last night’s game.

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Big Story

Early Voting

Nearly 57 million people have cast a ballot during early voting.

• Data from the University of Florida Election Lab shows that 29 million people have voted early in person, and 25.9 million have mailed in early voting ballots.

• More registered Democrats — almost 11 million — have already voted, compared to nearly 10 million registered Republicans, according to data from 25 states that report party registration. Minor party or non-registered voters have cast just below 7 million.

• More Republicans are voting early. In states with party registration, 40% of early voters are Democrats, and 36% are registered Republicans. In 2020, 30% of early voters were Republicans.

• Polling shows that Trump and Harris are locked almost even in swing states. Trump has a slight edge in Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Harris is ahead in Michigan and Nevada.

Quick Stories

U.S. News

• A cold front meeting warm, moist air in the central US brought strong thunderstorms on Wednesday, which could lead to tornadoes, large hail, heavy rain, and strong winds later today. (More)

• Police arrested a Florida teen for intimidating voters with a machete outside a Neptune Beach voting place. He faces charges of aggravated assault and improper exhibition of a weapon. (More)

• House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized Obamacare at a Pennsylvania event, telling the crowd that huge healthcare changes are in store if Trump wins the election. (More)

World

• Surging water in Valencia, Spain, killed 93 people in the deadliest flooding to hit the country in 30 years. A year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours in parts of the city on Tuesday. (More)

• Canada accused India’s Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah of being behind plans to target Sikh separatists in Canada. India has denied previous accusations from Canada, calling them baseless. (More)

• France’s PM Emmanuel Macros told Morocco that the Western Sahara should belong to it and pledged to invest French money there. Algeria believes Morocco is illegally occupying the region. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed lower on Wednesday (S&P -0.33%, Nasdaq -0.56%, Dow -0.22%). (More)

• VW asked its workers to take a 10% pay cut to save jobs and remain competitive after reporting that third-quarter profits dropped 42% year over year. (More)

• The US economy grew barely less than predicted in the third quarter. The GDP grew at an annualized pace of 2.8% instead of the 2.9% economists expected. The Fed meets next week to decide if it will cut interest rates more in 2024. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• United Way and Paramount Global are hosting a "United Way Benefit For Hurricane Relief" on Nov. 2 to help victims of Helene and Milton. The special will air on TV and Paramount+ and feature guests like the Backstreet Boys, Blake Shelton, and more. (More)

• The US women’s soccer team finished a busy week with a 3-0 win over Argentina in Louisville on Wednesday. Naomi Girma scored twice, and Argentina scored an own goal. (More)

• Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated actress Teri Garr died of multiple sclerosis at 79. She was known for her roles in “Tootsie” and horror spoof “Young Frankenstein.” (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Scientists detected the H5N1 bird flu virus in a pig for the first time in the US. Pigs can be infected with both bird and human viruses simultaneously and create mutated strains that humans can contract more easily. (More)

• A satellite took images of a rare atmospheric phenomenon that makes it look like Antarctic glaciers are smoking. The effect is caused by steam forming from cold air moving over warmer water at the glacier’s edges. (More)

• NASA lost contact with Voyager 1 for nearly a week after a glitch shut off the probe’s main transmitter. Engineers are now working on the issue using the craft’s backup transmitter, which hasn’t been used since 1981. (More)

Extra Credit

🧑‍🚀 How astronauts vote from space.

🪂 World’s first wingsuit with a foil takes flight.

☄️ Watch: “Halloween comet” ATLAS burns up in the sun.

🍬 Which states give out the most Halloween Candy?